http://www.robsartin.com/blog Stories about my son, six year old cancer survivor Spencer Sartin. True tales about having a child with cancer. Profiles of cancer survivors. Cancer resources. Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:45:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en JB is raffling his 1963 Ford F100 to help fight cancer. You can learn more and get a chance to Win JB's Vintage 1963 Ford Truck. Funds raised will benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. The Leukemia Lymphoma Society's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2007/10/30/jb-raffles-his-truck-to-fight-cancer.html Early voting opened Monday for the Texas election, which consists of a number of ballot initiatives. I'm planning to go vote tomorrow in favor of proposition 15, which creates the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and authorizes $3B of general obligation bonds over 10 years to fund ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2007/10/23/texans-curing-cancer-proposition-15.html An open letter to Lance Armstrong and Doug Ulman (CEO of the LAF), I hold you two, and the entire LAF, responsible for the attached photo. After Lance mentioned (again) "more wristbands than I've ever seen on one person" at the LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin pre-ride dinner, Spencer decided he had to ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2007/10/22/three-year-anniversary-eighty-wristbands.html Oh dear, what a long hiatus. I feel a desire to dig through my journal and family newsletter to backdate some postings to reflect the past 9 months, but for now I'll just dive right in. Spencer is doing well overall, but we had some minor problems last week. Over Spring ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2007/03/27/procedure-postponed-but-no-disaster.html This just in from the "Lance Armstrong Foundation":http://www.livestrong.org volunteer mailing list: A Lion in the House, the award-winning documentary that follows the journeys of five young cancer patients and their families over a span of six years, will be shown in Austin in its entirety at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/06/16/lion-in-the-house-at-alamo-drafthouse-sunday.html Rachel reminds me that I haven't said enough about how life is going these days. Spencer is in remission from acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is now over halfway through 38 months of chemotherapy. He finished Kindergarten last month and was advanced to first grade without any issues. His attendance record shows ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/06/16/life-in-summer-2006.html KLRU's "Austin NOW":http://klru.org/austinnow/ is doing a show this week on two Austin cancer survivors. Spencer is one of them. They filmed a couple of typical activities in Spencer's life - an oncologist visit and a rock climbing class - and interviewed Rachel, Spencer, and me. I haven't previewed any ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/06/14/austin-now-on-lion-in-the-house.html All day on June 10, there will be lemonade stands at Chick-fil-A locations throughout Austin. Read "the Alex's Lemonade Stand event calendar for June 10, 2006":http://www.alexslemonade.org/cal_details.php?day=10&month=6&year=2006 to get the full list of locations in Austin (conveniently at the top of the page) and all over the nation. Alexandra "Alex" Scott was ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/06/09/alexs-lemonade-stand-at-austin-chick-fil-a.html The "LAF Manifesto video is released":http://www.livestrong.org/site/c.jvKZLbMRIsG/b.736591/k.E20E/Manifesto.htm in a small Flash version. There is also a "large version of the LAF Manifesto video":http://www.livestrong.org/atf/cf/%7BFB6FFD43-0E4C-4414-8B37-0D001EFBDC49%7D/MANIFESTO.SWF that you can load directly. Both versions have compression too high (and quality a little too low) for my taste. I'm asking around to see if there will ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/25/laf-manifesto-video-is-out.html Tonight at 7:30pm you can attend the opening of Blackpool & Parrish at "Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church":http://www.liveoakuu.org at "3315 El Salido Pkwy; Cedar Park, TX":http://maps.google.com/maps?q=3315+El+Salido+Parkway,+Cedar+Park,+Texas and donating half the proceeds to the "Lance Armstrong Foundation":http://www.livestrong.org in support of Spencer. You can also "donate directly to the LAF":http://livestrongchallenge.org/06TX/spencer and support ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/19/opening-tonight-blackpool-parrish-and-photography-exhibit.html We are all busy and advocacy can be hard work. So, let's make it simple. Visit the Lance Armstrong Foundations "Take Action Now":http://www.livestrong.org/takeactionnow page and send two quick faxes or emails to your Senators and Representative asking them to support cancer research and survivorship issues. It is easy. It takes five ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/17/livestrong-day-advocacy-with-a-mouse-click-or-two.html bq. It's time for our nation to address our issues. Together, we can help change things for the better. As a team, we can make a difference for survivors." - Lance Armstrong Today is "Livestrong Day":http://www.livestrong.org/livestrongday - a day to celebrate cancer survivorship and take a moment to advocate for ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/17/livestrong-day-motivation.html The Unicorn Players of Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church are presenting "Blackpool & Parrish", a play by David Belke this month at "Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church":http://www.liveoakuu.org at "3315 El Salido Pkwy; Cedar Park, TX":http://maps.google.com/maps?q=3315+El+Salido+Parkway,+Cedar+Park,+Texas and donating half the proceeds to the "Lance Armstrong Foundation":http://www.livestrong.org in support of Spencer. Tickets ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/15/blackpool-parrish.html Fighting cancer is hard. It is many diseases. It requires many cures. The cures have side effects ranging from annoying to awful. How can we fight such a multi-headed beast? Start with some simple steps: # Join what Austin Murphy calls "Amstrong's Army":http://www.livestrong.org/advocacy of cancer advocates. This is the online registration ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/08/two-simple-steps-to-fight-cancer-right-now.html h3. Spencer with Lance Armstrong in Sports Illustrated The phone rings on April 18. Austin Murphy is writing the story about Lance and wants to talk about the Sports Illustrated cover photo. Spencer is home sick and is happy to talk with Austin - as long as I leave the ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/03/spencer-sartin-and-his-media-career-step-6.html In April, the Rolodex effect snowballed. KLRU filmed Spencer's rock climbing class, a visit to the oncologist, and came by the house to interview us (Spencer, Rachel, and me). Spencer banished Rachel and me to our bedroom (with his brother Jacob) while he was interviewed so that he would ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/02/spencer-sartin-and-his-media-career-step-5.html Never discount the Rolodex Effect. It turns out there are at least two feedback cycles. One is that, being in the media makes you worth covering. The other (stronger I believe) is that Spencer (and I, his publicist) wound up in the rolodexes of several people at Children's Hospital of Austin ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/02/spencer-sartin-and-his-media-career-step-4.html Tour Watch 2005 turned out to be a critical part of Spencer's fundraising success, along with a raffle at my favorite coffee shop, the "It's a Grind" at 620 and Anderson Mill in Austin. I blasted out notes to the reporter at KEYE who had done a great story ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/02/spencer-sartin-and-his-media-career-step-3.html Apparently my Google page rank is just high enough that some people find my blog on purpose. Two people found the 24 Hour Fitness entry, leading to an exciting July. First, Paul Walhus, who attended the 24 Hour Fitness event contacted me with pictures. Paul was organizing "Tour Watch 2005":http://touroftexas.com/ - ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/01/spencer-sartin-and-his-media-career-step-2.html p(photo). !/images/spencersartin24hourfitness.jpg(Spencer Sartin wear Discovery jersey and 37 Livestrong wristbands at 24 Hour Fitness Opening)! In May, 2005, Lance took a tiny break from his European cycling schedule to come to the states. Among the things he did on that brief visit was attend an Austin opening of the newly branded ... http://www.robsartin.com/blog/2006/05/01/spencer-sartin-and-his-media-career-step-1.html